Welcome

Welcome to River@Risk. A joint project of photojournalists Ronald de Hommel and Johannes Abeling. In the next years they will travel the world’s most strategic rivers to record the changing lives of the people that depend on the water they supply.

Rivers are more important than many people realise. Many countries in the world are almost 100% dependent on river water for their cities and agriculture. Cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix Arizona in the middle of the desert get all their water through long canals from the Colorado river.

Pakistan, in a virtual state of war with its neighbour India depends for its survival on a few rivers (of which the Indus is the most well know). They all originate the Himalayas and run through India-controlled Kashmir. And India is building dams, officially to generate energy for its growing population. But what if they close Pakistan’s water supply?

A changing climate also affects the flow of rivers. Some will reduce in size, others will suffer uncontrollable floods. Once thing is for sure: they will grow in importance and nations will have to react to those changes.

their first trip will go to the Colorado River in the west of the United States. They will follow the Colorado in its lower reach through the states of Nevada, Arizona and California until the disappearing mouth in Baja California, just across the border in Mexico.

One story will feature in this trip: the Salton Sea, California’s own Aral Sea disaster.

This weblog is the first step in a multimedia project where Johannes and Ronald will present images, videos stories and interviews all related to these rivers at risk. For now this website has the shape of a weblog. New additions will be uploaded regularly also after the end of the trip.

In the future this website will be expanded with more multi media features.

Enjoy!

Ronald & Johannes.